Hello, this is Attorney Kim Kwang-sik from Cheongchul Law Firm.

Through our previous postings, we have examined the laws applicable to medical advertising, the overview and criteria for medical advertising regulations, and briefly reviewed actual cases of violations.

Today, under such medical advertising regulations, we will examine whether any hospital can use the term 'specialized hospital', and if impossible, what cases may be judged as violations of medical advertising regulations with specific examples.

[Question]

Can any hospital use the term “specialized hospital”?

[Answer]

1.     Specialized Hospital Designation System

The Medical Law stipulates that 'the Minister of Health and Welfare may designate hospitals that perform complex medical procedures in specific medical departments or for specific diseases among hospital-level medical institutions as specialized hospitals.' (Medical Law Article 3-5 Paragraph 1), and regulations state that medical institutions not designated as specialized hospitals are prohibited from displaying the name of specialized hospital (Medical Law Article 42 Paragraph 1, Article 3 Paragraph 2, Enforcement Rules of the same law Article 40 Paragraph 3).

Moreover, the Medical Law prohibits medical professionals from engaging in advertising that displays 'false content', 'exaggerated facts', or 'advertising using qualifications or names without legal basis' (Medical Law Article 56 Paragraph 2 Items 3, 8, 9). The Law on Fair Labeling and Advertising (hereinafter referred to as "Labeling and Advertising Law") also provides that businesses must not deceive consumers or lead them to erroneous beliefs through misleading advertising practices, which undermines fair transaction order through false or exaggerated displays. Therefore, unless a medical institution is designated as a specialized hospital by the Minister of Health and Welfare, indiscriminately using the term ‘specialized hospital’ in advertisements constitutes a violation of the Medical Law and the Labeling and Advertising Law.

If such a violation occurs, criminal penalties including imprisonment for up to one year or fines of up to 10 million won, as well as administrative penalties under the regulations on medical-related administrative penalties may apply, including a work suspension of 1 to 2 months or a substitute fine.

2.     Advertisement of “Implant Specialized Hospital” by a Dental Clinic

The plaintiff operating a dental clinic used the term “Implant Specialized Hospital” in internet advertising and faced imposition of a fine exceeding 60 million won for violating the Medical Law. The court ruled that the advertisement fell under the category of 'false advertising' as per Article 56 Paragraph 2 Item 3 of the Medical Law, and deemed the fine to be lawful due to the following reasons (Busan High Court 2023. 5. 26. ruling 2023nu20140).

ü  ​Failure to meet the designation requirements of a specialized hospital​: The plaintiff's dental clinic used the term 'specialized hospital' despite not being designated as such by the Minister of Health and Welfare.

ü  Mismatch of medical institution type​: Article 3 Paragraph 2 of the Medical Law distinguishes medical institutions as 'clinic-level medical institutions' and 'hospital-level medical institutions,' and since the plaintiff's dental clinic is classified as a 'clinic-level medical institution', the term 'hospital' itself is inappropriate.​

The court ruled that “the advertisement for 'Implant Specialized Hospital' contains false content that may confuse or mislead general medical consumers lacking medical knowledge.”

3.     Advertisement of “Ministry of Health and Welfare Designated Women’s Specialized Screening Hospital” and “Spinal Disc Specialty” advertisement

A hospital that was designated as a cervical cancer screening institution by a local government and had applied to the Ministry of Health and Welfare for designation as a 'Artificial Insemination Support Business Treatment Institution,' being registered as a 'Government Supported Artificial Insemination Treatment Designated Institution,' was prosecuted for advertising as a “Ministry of Health and Welfare Designated Women’s Specialized Screening Hospital.” The court ruled that the advertisement stating 'Ministry of Health and Welfare Designated Women’s Specialized Screening Hospital' without meeting the specialized hospital designation requirements was indeed false advertising.

However, in a case where a hospital advertised as “Spinal Disc Specialty, OO Hospital” without a specialized hospital designation by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the court found that the hospital was actually ranked first in the number of spinal surgeries according to National Health Insurance Corporation statistical data. Therefore, it judged that such advertisement was not misleading or devoid of factual basis, and whether the advertisement designated it as a 'specialized hospital' was not an issue. Nonetheless, it can be understood that in this case, advertising without the direct term 'specialized hospital' is not a violation of the Medical Law as it secured expertise with first place in the number of actual spinal disc surgeries.

Cheongchul Law Firm provides consulting to various medical institutions, medical advertising platforms, and health examination reservation platforms, possessing expertise in medical laws, medical device laws, and other areas within the medical field.